CM Punk joined All Elite Wrestling in 2021 after being away from the squared circle for seven years. Punk had an underwhelming run in Tony Khan’s company. However, he helped build AEW. The Second City Savior was the best merchandise seller in AEW.
Last June, AEW introduced the flagship show, “Collision.” Punk was the major star of the show. However, it consistently drew under 500,000 viewers after Punk’s firing.
Recently, Eric Bischoff described CM Punk as one of the most financially successful acquisitions in the world of pro wrestling. On the latest episode of 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff said that Punk wasn’t a draw in AEW.
“CM Punk that I saw when he first showed up in AEW, And the CM Punk I saw when he showed up in WWE, Two different people, Two different shows, Two different businesses, Two different approaches to the product. One would not draw a dime or increase television revenues. Which was true. Was absolutely true and accurate.”
Eric Bischoff
Last month, CM Punk returned to WWE at Survivor Series and became an asset to the company. Punk sold thousands of tickets and drew big numbers for his segments.
2 different CM Punks pic.twitter.com/5xfOwJU4Fk
— Eric Bischoff (@EBischoff) December 17, 2023